No practice today, but here are a couple items I wrote for today's paper.

The first is on quarterback Chris Todd and his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery. I kind of feel for Todd. He came here specifically to run Tony Franklin's system, he was never healthy when doing so and Franklin wasn't really ever given a shot to run his offense the way he saw fit. Now Todd is in a quarterback battle in which he can't yet fully participate. But he seems in good spirits about the whole thing, just thankful that he finally got something done about his ailing shoulder.

Second, here are some notes from Thursday's practice. Lee Ziemba has bulked up from 280 pounds to 308, Phillip Lolley will coach cornerbacks while Tommy Thigpen coaches safeties and everybody is getting used to each other early in practice.

Also, here's some video from Thursday's practice, the last one open to the media for about a week. A couple things struck me:

• I thought Auburn would limit itself to stretching and other useless drills for the open media sessions, but to its credit, it was out there doing some meaningful stuff, especially the offense, which ran through a hurry-up offense at one point.

• That said, I don't understand the fear of reporters being there. I could understand if Gene Chizik didn't allow video (in fact, I'm kind of surprised that he did), but to allow reporters and fans to watch as the team goes through a series of drills seems harmless. Now, if he wanted to close portions where the Tigers actually installed the offense, fine. But I think portions of practice should be open to the fans who are interested enough to watch the team. It would also add some color to our stories, which, admittedly, are going to be based a lot on what the coaches tell us for the remainder of spring, which you always have to take with a grain of salt.

• I'd like to point out that the life of a kicker/punter is a sweet one. If you don't agree, watch the clip of them practicing (by themselves it should be noted) compared to the rest of the groups.

• Some thoughts about the coaches, some of which you'll see in the video:

• Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor, as expected, is the most entertaining to watch. He gets vocal throughout practice, and the snap count drill that's on the video is one of the best portions.

• Defensive coordinator Ted Roof did an interesting drill with the linebackers, having them duck under a tarp while picking their feet up over pads that served as speed bumps. Watch him interact with Eltoro Freeman (No. 21) to get the junior college transfer to loosen up his hips before doing the drill. It's hilarious. Also, after I stopped filming, he had a great line about staying low to the ground, telling his guys to "get in love with Mother Earth."

• Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker was another fun one to watch. He too was doing a visual snap drill, while calling out fake snap counts and wiggling the ball around on the ground with a stick. I'd like to see Rocker during the contact portion of the drill. That'd be entertaining.

• Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is calm and collect all the time, but always talking. He seems to take a very cerebral approach to the quarterbacks, which I guess isn't too out of character for him.

• I didn't have any film of Chizik for the day, mostly because he was overseeing a lot of stuff, and that made for boring video. He did step in on some special teams work, but it was mostly instructional. No action, so it didn't make the cut.

Anyway, enjoy. I hope to have another video up later of some player interviews, so check back.